Norvell Notes

AMONG THE TALES OF The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrinis one of a few that feature mankind as the central characters. Like the epics of old, it begins with a great battle, one full of both hope and despair. The sons of men and kingdoms of elves suffer great loss of life and land as the battle slowly works against them. Before Húrin, the leader of the House of Hador, is captured by Morgoth, the fallen Valar or Tolkien’s Satan, Húrin’s faith is ever strong. “Flame light! Flee night!” cries Húrin defiantly. Challenging Morgoth, he cries,“BLIND YOU ARE, Morgoth Bauglir, and blind shall ever be, seeing only the dark. You know not what rules the hearts of Men, and if you knew you could not give it . . . We know who you are because we once escaped your shadow and now know the Light. You did not make the light for you have spent your strength upon yourself and wasted it in your own emptiness.”

The tale now begins to parallel the tragedies and epics of ancient Greece in more ways than one. Rarely does a Greek tragic hero die, and so Húrin is captured and lives. In Greek tragedy, the prolonged suffering of the central character allows the audience to empathically experience his woe and despair, catharsis or not. And so Morgoth assigns Húrin a living death. He is placed under a spell of half-death as he is forced to watch Morgoth at work. Most significantly, Húrin’s children are now under the control of Morgoth’s will. In his foreword, Christopher Tolkien is careful to differentiate this means of control. Húrin’s children, Túrin and Niénor, are not pawns of a set fate like the Greek Fates and their prescribed destinies for men. Túrin and Niénor do have free will while at the same time being manipulated by circumstances set in place by Morgoth’s curse: “Then Morgoth stretching out his long arm toward Dor-lómin cursed Húrin and Morwen and their offspring, saying ‘Behold, the shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world.’”

Thus, the tale shifts from Húrin to Túrin. Yet the question remains whether he indeed will be the epic hero. Though Húrin does not return from the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, The Battle of Unnumbered Tears, to protect his family and people, young Túrin must now leave his pregnant mother Morwen to live safely with the elves. Morwen would not leave her house for “her pride was still high.” But at nine years old, Túrin is reluctant to depart since the Easterlings have taken more and more of the people and land of Dor-lómin. This leave-taking parallels the journey of Odysseus’ son Telemachus. Unsure of himself yet with hope from Athena, Telemachus too had to leave his beleaguered home to learn of his father and even to learn how to lead and be the man-prince he truly was. Once Túrin lives under Thingol’s protection with the elves in Doriath, “he learned much lore, hearing eagerly the histories of ancient days and great deeds of old, and he became thoughtful.” This term thoughtful is much like the description of Homer’s Odysseus who was both thoughtful and crafty as his son was thoughtful and poised. In the elvish kingdom, Thingol desired Túrin to be a soldier with ever a sword, though he knew Túrin required patience and testing yet. As Túrin grows older and battles alongside the elves against the Orcs and creatures of Morgoth, he gains strength and experience. Though scarred and wounded from myriad battles, he cannot die much like Odysseus could not. But while Odysseus survived by Zeus’ favor and Athena’s protection, Túrin is different. Tolkien writes, “But his doom delivered him from death.” Tolkien consistently uses the negative term doom rather than fate or destiny. Fate or destiny may end well without necessitating death. But this generational doom and the sinister weight of Morgoth’s words weigh heavily upon Túrin's every thought and step and upon Tolkien’s audience.

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An ugly queen. The jealous sister. The beautiful one. An angry goddess. Do you wish you knew more about C.S.Lewis' Till We Have Faces​? Explore Lewis' favorite and final piece of fiction chapter by chapter with meaningful summary, commentary, and spiritual insight.